It is the 70th anniversary of D-Day for World War II veterans most of whom are in their late 80s or 90s. The Ohio Honor Flight arrived in buses with one Purple Heart Vietnam Air Force Veteran, Dave Dowdell. Dave is making the rounds today. His first stop was the changing of the guards at Arlington National Cemetery. Next he came here to the WWII Memorial before heading over to the Korean War and Vietnam Memorials. Last, the buses will head to the Iwo Jima Memorial before heading back to Columbus, Ohio. The Honor Flight Program is brilliant and doing a terrific job.

James George

Dave Dowdell is ill with cancer that was likely caused by his exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. That is terrible blow to have been diagnosed with cancer due to that circumstance because Dave was already wounded once in Vietnam. We have followed Dave’s story here at Examiner.com because he is not alone. There are thousands of Agent Orange victims who have struggled to get treatment through the Veterans Administration.

The great tragedy was that the US military during the Vietnam War were so desperate that they employed the use of Agent Orange, a product of Dow Chemical, that surely was known to be a carcinogen, and detrimental to all living beings. Today, we are prosecuting Syria for use of chemical weapons, but during the Vietnam War, the US did the same thing, including failing to protect our soldiers against the consequences of its use.

Dave Dowdell is a patriot who has grandsons who served in Afghanistan. He won’t win the battle against cancer, but Dave wants to win the war against American’s being so complacent that they permit their government and military to do things that are beneath the dignity of our nation. He wants Americans to join him and other victims of Agent Orange to gain the best treatment that they can. If Dow Chemical and other producers of harmful chemicals used as weapons in Vietnam and any other war are liable for the damage they inflicted against humanity, then he and others like him want to see action taken against them because as long as soldiers are dying from such abuse, corporations are liable.

Dave Dowdell is a grandfather and father. He is one of many examples of American patriots who have paid a personal price through their military service with true honor and distinction.

Dave joined a host of WWII Veterans today, one of which fought at the Battle of the Bulge. Some veterans present at the memorial served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Now, we will be needing more memorials for Iraq and Afghanistan as life goes on.

Salute to all veterans.

"The Struggle Continues: Seeking Compensation for Vietnamese Agent Orange Victims, 52 Years On

Today marks the 52nd anniversary of the start of the chemical warfare program in Vietnam, a long time with NO sufficient remedial action by the U.S. government. One of the most shameful legacies of the American War against Vietnam, Agent Orange continues to poison Vietnam and the people exposed to the chemicals, as well as their offspring.

For over 10 years, from 1961 to 1975, in order to deny food and protection to those deemed to be "the enemy," the United States defoliated the land and forests of Vietnam with the chemicals known as Agent Orange. These chemicals contained the impurity of dioxin - the most toxic chemical known to science. Millions of people were exposed to Agent Orange and today it is estimated that three million Vietnamese still suffer the effects of these chemical defoliants.

In addition to the millions of Vietnamese who continue to be affected by this deadly poison, tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers are also affected. It has caused birth defects in hundreds of thousands of children in Vietnam and the United States - that is, the second and third generations of those who were exposed to Agent Orange decades ago. Medical evidence indicates that certain cancers (for example, soft tissue non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma), diabetes (type II), and in children spina bifida and other serious birth defects, are attributable to the exposure."

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James A. George has over 25 years of experience working in the government consulting space with many years interacting with Congressional staff and government executives as a program manager and executive in developing policies. He was liaison between the Office of Secretary of Defense and the Aerospace Industries Association addressing standards for electronic commerce. He has written hundreds of papers and a book titled Smart Data, Enterprise Performance Optimization Strategy (c)2010 Wiley Publishing. He has published columns titled "The American Political System" and wrote a new book titled How to Select and American President (c)2011 All Rights Reserved.